Morphofunctional Peculiarities of the Mucous Membrane of Palate and Cheeks, Salivary Glands, Gums in Hypothyroidism

In a variety of literary sources the study of greater salivary glands morphology in hypothyroidism remains neglected, while we know that they are one of the organs-depot of iodine and their functioning depends on the metabolic processes in the organism, which, in turn, are determined by the level of iodine-containing hormones of thyroid gland. Functioning of greater and lesser salivary glands and oral mucosa determines the state of the teeth-jaw system, digestive and other systems of the body, for they perform such important functions as: the protective, trophic, excretory, incretory ones. Morphofunctional peculiarities of the gums provide homeostasis not only locally, but also of the upper digestive system, being at the same time their state reflection. Material and methods. Modeling of hypothyroidism was performed in 20 white outbred mature rats with the help of medicine “Merkazolil” (“Zdorovya”, Ukraine), which was administered in drinking water at doses of corresponding settlement – 7.5 mg per 100 g of animal's body weight [1, 5] during 14 and 21 days. All manipulations were performed in compliance with requirements of ethics and humane treatment of animals. Collection of material – after 14th and 21st day. Euthanasia – by the introduction of 2% solution of sodium thiopental at a dose of 25 mg/kg. Electronic microscopic method of investigation was used. Results. The paper presents the results of electronic microscopic study of morphofunctional state of the structural components of salivary glands, gums, mucous membrane of the palate and cheeks during the 14th and 21st day of Merkazolil-induced hypothyroidism, which was modeled in 20 mature outbred white rats. In all studied organs the same type of reactive-degenerative changes of the blood vessels, epithelium, and connective tissue framework were found. At the same type, the pathological changes are on the basis of both vascular and connective tissue changes mutually potentiate each other. Conclusions. Thus, during the 14th day of the experimentally modeled hypothyroidism in all studied organs there are similar changes: edematous phenomenon in connective tissue and structural components of the vascular bed wall, and as a result, epitheliocytes develop degenerative processes that are complicated during the 21st day of the experiment. Taking into account the pronounced reactivity of the studied structures, it is reasonable to study the dynamics of morphological transformations in phasing with the aim to find possible methods of prevention and timely correction.